Rents rise steadily in Westmeath

Rents in Westmeath were on average 11.8 per cent higher in the third quarter of 2017 than a year previously, according to the latest quarterly Rental Price Report by Daft.ie

The average advertised rent is now €814 in Westmeath, up 54 per cent from its lowest point.

Rents rose nationwide by an average of 11.2 per cent in the year to September, 2017. The average monthly rent nationwide during the third quarter of 2017 was €1,198, the sixth quarter in a row a new all-time high has been set.

In Dublin, the increase in rents in the year to September was 12.3 per cent and rents in the capital are now almost 23 per cent higher than their previous peak in 2008. The annual rate is unchanged from the second quarter and this is largely true of rents in the other major cities.

In Cork, rents rose by 5.3 per cent in the year to September, while in Galway rents were 9.8 per cent higher than a year previously. In Limerick city, rents rose by 10.9 per cent during the past 12 months, while in Waterford the increase was 8.5 per cent. Outside the five main cities, rents have risen by 10.8 per cent.

There were 3,365 properties available to rent nationwide on November 1. This is the lowest number ever recorded for this time of year since the series started in 2006 and the total marks a 16 per cent decrease on the same number a year previously.

Ronan Lyons, economist at Trinity College and author of the Daft Report, said: “Rents continue to rise, and rise at close to record rates, due to an acute and worsening shortage of accommodation. Four of the five largest quarterly increases in rents have now occurred since the start of 2016 and rents in 46 of the 54 markets covered in the report now exceed their Celtic Tiger highs. Rents in some parts of Dublin have now risen by 90 per cent from their lowest levels in 2011.

“It is now increasingly agreed that the country needs at least 40,000 and probably closer to 50,000 new homes a year, to meet underlying demand. As Ireland catches up with its peers in terms of demographics and urbanisation, the construction effort should focus on apartments, of all types, in major urban areas. What is stopping that from happening is how high costs are relative to our own incomes. Caps on rent increases may help sitting tenants but are at best of no consequence in solving the underlying challenge.”